Pipe tong



July 14, 1936. R, HERTEL 2,047,506

PIPE TONG Filed Nov. 25, 1935 @oamt K. 14mm 7 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 14, 1936 PATENT OFFICE PIPE TONG Richard K. Hertel, Vernon, Calif., assignor to Byron Jackson 00., Huntington Park, Califl, a corporation of Delaware Application November 25, 1935, Serial No. 51,442

3 Claims.

This invention relates to pipe tongs, and, more especially, to improvements in hand tongs for use on oil well tubing, such as tongs shown in Patent No. 1,764,124 granted June 17, 1930, to Nelson K. Smith. Such tongs are characterized by a pair of pivoted jaw members adapted to completely encircle the pipe, and a lever pivoted to one of the jaws and having a lug on the pivot end thereof adapted to engage the free end of the other jaw to force the jaws into pipe engaging position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tong having the foregoing characteristics, while improving the design to provide greater strength.

Another object is to provideimproved means for holding the jaws in the open or close-d positions.

Another object is to provide means for locking the tong on the pipe so that it can be used as a back-up tong without removal from the pipe.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following descriptions and drawing:

Fig. l is a plan view of a pipe tong constructed in accordance with the provisions of this inven tion, a portion of the handle being broken away to contract the view.

Fig. 2 is a back elevation of Fig. 1 showing the locking device.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal view, mainly in section, viewed from the line indicate-d by 3--3 on Fig. 2.

There is provided a hook-shaped body 6 provided with a curved inner face l2 adapted to bear against the surface of the pipe P on one side. The pipe is gripped on the opposite side by a swinging latch gate or jaw 13 provided with a curved inner face I 4.

The inner face I4 is provided near the free end of the latch with a die l5 which is brought into engagement with the pipe when the latch jaw is in the closed position shown in Fig. 1. The die I5 is removably retained in a die slot 44 by any suitable means such as the cotter keys 41, which H extend through a hole 46 in lugs 45 formed on the latch jaw l3.

The latch jaw I3 is pivoted by a bolt l6 to the body 6 and the body andlatch jaw together constitute a pair of pivotally connected jaws between which the pipe is clamped. The pivot I6 passes through a hole IT in the body 6. The pivoted end of the latch jaw I3 is slotted to provide upper and lower flanges 8, 9 adapted to receive the end of the body 6. The flanges 8, 9 are providedwith holes is to receive the pivot bolt "5'.

The free end of latch jaw I3 is provided with a handle comprising a bar 20 and an outwardly rear wall ll of the pocket 4.

projecting arm 2|. The bar 25 is secured at its middle to the arm 2| and the opposite ends of the bar project upwardly and downwardly from the arm 20 so that some of the fingers of the operator can be placed on the upper portion .of the 5 bar and some on the lower portion.

Near its free end 44 (Fig. 3), the latch jaw I3 is provided in its outer face with a recess 22, one wall of which forms a shoulder 23 which is engaged by a shoulder 24 on an operating lever or handle 25 which is pivoted at 26 to the body 6. The pivot of the lever 25, in this instance, is in the form of a bolt that passes through a hole 21 in lever 25. The lever end of the body 6 is slotted to form upper and lower flanges 5, 1 adapted to receive the end of the lever 25. The pivot bolt 26 passes through holes 28 formed in the flanges 5, 1.

The shoulder 24 is formed by one face of a projecting lug 29 formed on the end of lever 25. The lever constitutes the handle of the tong and provides a lever adapted, when the handle is moved in the position shown in Fig. 1, to thrust the latch jaw 13 inwardly so as to clamp the pipe between the latch jaw l 3 and the body 6. 1 25 The body 6 is provided near its middle portion with a chamber or pocket 4 adapted to receive a coil compression spring 33 enclosing a plunger 40. The spring 33 bears at one end against a seat 3| formed by the forward wall of the pocket 3 4 and at its other end bears against a shoulder 4| formed by a head 42 formed on the rear end of the plunger 40. The plunger 40 is curved to conform roughly to the curvature of the body 6. The forward end of the plunger 48 extends through an 35 opening 3 la formed in the forward wall 3 l of 1 pocket 4. The rear end, or head 42, of the plunger extends through an opening I la formed in the The head 42 of plunger 40 is provided with a rounded nose 5i! 40 forming diverging cam faces 5|, 52.

The pivote end of the tong lever 25 is provided with a lateral extension 38 having a rounded nose forming diverging cam faces 39a and 39b. The cam faces 39a, and 391) are adapted to bear against 45 the cam faces 5| and 52, respectively, of the plunger head 42 in body 6, so as to releasably hold the body and lever in the closed or open'position' as may be desired. c

The latch jaw I3 is provided with a recess or pocket 3 (similar to pocket 4 in body 6) enclosing a coil compression spring 38 through which there extends a plunger 36 provided with a head l9 forming a shoulder 31 against which one endof the spring seats. The other end of the spring bears against a seat formed by the wall 30 of the pocket. One end of the plunger 36 extends through a hole It) formed in the wall 30. The plunger head l3 extends through a hole a in the wall 35 of the pocket 4. The head I9 is formed with a rounded nose providing diverging cam faces 34a and 34b.

The end of body 6 adjacent the pivot I6 is provided with an extension 32 having a rounded nose forming diverging cam faces 32a. and 32b. The cam faces 32a and 32b on the body 6 are adapted to bear against the cam faces 34a and 34b, respectively, of the plunger head l9, so as to re.- leasably hold the body and latch jaw in the closed or open position as may be desired- The flanges 8, 9 on the pivot end of the latch jaw l3 extend over and conform to the inner curved portion of body 6 for a short distance, so that when the tong is in the open position shown in Fig. 3 the flanges 8, 9 extend outwardly from the-body 5. Thus when the tong is thrust against the pipe the flanges 8, 9 are first to contact the pipe and serve as levers to force the cams I9, 32 to cross over center, whereupon the spring 38 and its camv plunger 36 force the latch jaw to the closed position and hold it there.

When the latch jaw I3 has been moved to closed position, as described above, the shoulder 23 on the latch jaw is in position to be engaged by the shoulder 24 on the tong lever 25. The lever is swung on its pivot 26 so that the cams 42, 38 cross over center whereupon the shoulders 23 and 24 can be engaged and the lever is held in the closed position by the spring plunger 40 and its associated cam surfaces.

To remove the tong from the pipe, the lever is swung on its pivot from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 3.

In order that the tong can be used as a back up tong without removing it from the pipe, I provide a cam lock in the form of a lever secured to the lever 25 near its pivot end by means of a pivot bolt 6| extending through holes in the levers 25 and 6B. The tong lever 25 is provided with a recess 62 adapted to receive the cam lever 60. The cam lever is provided with a cam surface 63 adapted to bear against a cam surface 64 formed on an extension of wall II of the body member 6. The body 6 is slotted at its rearward end forming flanges 5, T between which the tong lever 25 is received. A spring washer 61 is provided around the pivot bolt 6| and between the cam lever 60 and the tong lever 25. The spring washer is adjusted to hold the cam lever firmly (but movable by hand) in any given position. In Fig. 1 the cam lock is shown in the locked position. It will be noted that with the lock in this position the tong lever can not be swung on its pivot to the releasing position.

The spring-pressed cam plungers 36, 40 together with their associated cams provide a construction which enables the tong to grip the pipe tightly and yet the lever and jaw members are easily moved to and from the open and closed positions.

The curvature of the plungers 36, 40 permits the plungers to be of relatively great length without requiring that the jaw members be any wider than is necessary for adequate strength. Because of the great length of the plungers, the springs 33, 38 can be of considerable length. This construction results in a low spring stress without appreciable lateral distortion and yet gives a relatively long plunger travel.

The arrangement of the jaw sections such that the latch jaw is the female member, where it is pivoted to the body, is particularly desirable, since the latch jaw is necessarily the smaller member and, without this construction, would be the weaker member and most liable to breakage.

I claim:

1. A pipe tong comprising pivotally connected jaws comprising a body member and a latch jaw member, a lever pivoted to one end of said body and provided with a shoulder, the latch jaw provided with a shoulder engageable with the first mentioned shoulder when the latch jaw is in closed position and the lever is moved to closed position, the latch jaw and lever being movable into open positions, pockets formed in said body and jaw members, spring-pressed plungers slidably received in. said. pockets, said plungers being provided with heads having noses forming diverging cam faces, an extension formed on the pivoted end of said lever and provided with a nose forming diverging cam faces adapted to co-act with the diverging cam faces on the plunger in said body member and an extension formed on the other end of said body member, said extension being provided with a nose forming diverging cam faces adapted to co-act with the diverging cam faces on the plunger in said latch jaw.

2. A pipe tong comprising a body member, a latch jaw member provided with spaced flanges at one end, said body being received between said flanges and pivoted thereto at one end, said body being provided at its other end. with spaced flanges, a tong lever adapted to be received between said body flanges and pivoted thereto, a shoulder on the free end of the latch jaw, a shoulder on the pivoted end of the tong lever engageable with the shoulder on said latch lever when said latch jaw and tong lever are moved to closed position, a pocket formed in said body member, a pocket formed in said latch jaw member, springpressed plungers slidably received in said pockets, said plungers being provided with noses forming diverging cam faces, an extension formed on the pivoted end of said tong lever, and provided with a nose forming diverging cam faces adapted to co-act with the cam faces on the plunger in said body member, an extension formed on the other end of said body member and provided with a nose forming diverging cam faces adapted to coact with the cam faces on the plunger in said latch jaw member.

3. A pipe tong comprising a body member and a latch jaw member curved to conform to the pipe contour, said latch jaw being pivoted at one end to said body, a tong lever pivoted to said body at the other end, a shoulder on the free end of the latch jaw, a shoulder on the pivoted end of the lever engageable with the shoulder on the latch jaw when said members are moved to the pipe gripping position, pockets formed in the body and latch jaw, spring-pressed plungers slidably received in said pockets, said plungers being curved to approximate the curvature of said body and jaw, a nose forming diverging cam faces provided on one end of each plunger, a nose forming diverging cam faces provided on the pivoted end of said lever and adapted to co-act with the cam faces of the plunger in the body member, a nose forming diverging cam faces provided on the end of said body adjacent said jaw, said cam faces being adapted to co-act with the cam faces on the plunger in the jaw member.

RICHARD K. I-IER'I'EL. 

